Product Description

(ComOps Adaptive Sales Management-ASM) 

One2One Sales Management, increasing sales and creating closer relationships with customers.”

Adaptive Sales Management (ASM©), in essence, is the ability for management to use empirical information from the field sales representatives on customer information, market forces, competitors and key performance indicators to redesign specific engagement strategies and react quickly to ensure sales targets are met. The key to the success of ASM is accurate and timely information exchange, with the specific intention of getting as close to the customer as possible.

A Two page brief on SAM Mobile Workforce (pdf)

ASM comprises of six continuous, linked phases as shown in the diagram below.

The ASM methodology provides management with accurate information from the field and senior management using a combination of on-screen dash-boards and on-line reporting. Another advantage of ASM is that Management is able to ‘push’ changes to sales strategy, new promotional activities, pricing and other relevant information out to the sales force, with a touch of a button

ASM Methodology Brief is attached for further reference (pdf)

Innovation

Conceived and developed by ComOps, the Adaptive Sales Management (ASM©) methodology is a set of tools that is revolutionising the market, helping to develop the concept of One2One Sales Management.

In this age of high network availability and low cost of telecoms connection, ASM allows field teams to quickly and easily digest the information that Sales Management or Sales Support/Administration has pushed out to them on their Notebooks or PDAs and plan their site visits in their calendars accordingly. ASM is not designed to ‘micro-manage’ an experienced sales or service field team. Used correctly, ASM is a tool, which is proving invaluable in differentiating an organisation in the eyes of its customers.

Sales people are probably the most challenging people to manage in any organisation. Many liken managing sales people to ‘herding cats’. Experienced sales people know what they are doing and no ‘system’ or ‘methodology’ is going to change their way of doing business. While this may be true the fact remains that no-one can remember everything about a customer – no matter how experienced they are. Using back-office support and the latest mobility technology at very low costs, the ASM methodology provides sales people with intimate customer touch, making the sales/service persons time with their customers, valuable and constructive.

The use of ASM, with immediate access to accurate competitive data allows the field representative to act as a trusted source of information, thereby building a stronger bond with the customer. It is a powerful tool in gaining their trust.

Further, capturing important customer corporate direction at the time when it is occurring by the field representative allows management to make informed, adaptive decisions on their current and future approach to the customer, or their industry.

Performance

Even in today’s highly mobile society any Information Exchange is only possible while the PDA, Notebook, PC Tablet or Home Computer is ‘tethered’ or connected to the Internet or office VPN connection. In certain locations around the country wireless connections may not always be available to the field representative. Whilst ‘tethered’ to the network, relevant information passes to the field force representatives as and it is ‘pushed’ by the support or management team. At the same time field representative information is being passed back to a centralised location where it is used for management reporting using Rapid Information Analysis©. ‘Untethered’ or disconnected information is stored on the field representatives PDA or Notebook and up-loaded when they re-connect to their network.

By ComOps customers’ own admission this process is fast, accurate, reliable and a major time saver for management and the field representatives. It also saves a great deal of re-keying of information (such as orders or credits), incorrectly entered information and the need to interpret information via email or fax.

The final component in the ASM life-cycle is the ability for Management to act quickly on empirical information that has been received from the field. Using a series of dash-boards and on-line reports a manager can quickly arrive at a decision to change the strategic direction of a campaign or promotion. Further, where KPIs are not being met, management and administration assistance can provide immediate support to the field representative, in a proactive rather than reactive manner.

Potential

Having the right information available to management to make informed decisions, combining this with management intuition and experience is what One2One Sales Management is about. ASM is the methodology that facilitates One2One Sales Management, keeping management close to their field representatives and their teams even closer to the organisation’s most important assets – the customer. ASM, combined with the latest technology using Mobility and Analysis tools, helps create a unique and personal relationship with the customer that will differentiate a company’s products and services from its competitors.

ComOps key focus for ASM is to target the CGI (FMCG) market as that is where our knowledge, product development and customer experience has been derived. Our year of listening and gaining insight in this space sets our services apart from the other providers. Our co-hosted Microsoft Mobility events for potential new customers have been well attended by this industry. Our partnerships with companies such as Promax, who supply a Trade Spend and Promotion Management, and Field Force Planning add further value and potential to our solutions.

In December 2006 we hosted our inaugural, and very well attended, User Forum in Melbourne where customers shared in their experiences and appointed Doug Bell Manager-Sales Force Development at Orica Consumer Products as Chairman. He is hosting the next one at their Melbourne operation in February. You will find a Case Study prepared by Microsoft on the journey OCP have taken on our website;

http://www.comops.com.au/site/index.cfm?display=19349

ComOps News 

http://www.comops.com.au/site/index.cfm?display=19759

Other information the judges should know

ComOps’ was founded by our Managing Director Richard Bradley in 1972 to develop and service the Australasian market place in ERP. Mobility, web and business intelligence solutions have been key developments for us over the past fifteen years ensuring our customers can choose a total solutions or individual products. In 1999 we listed on the ASX (COM). Our customers include Coca-Cola, Simplot, Orica Consumer Products, Canon, Lexmark, Australia Post, Freedom Furniture, Toshiba, Universal Publishers, Peregrine Travel and Mistral. Feel free to visit our website www.comops.com.au to read some of our Customer Case Studies and ComOps News. Proudly Australian we have been a finalist in the Deloitte Fast 50 in 2001, Quality accredited since 1997 and we are a Government Endorsed Supplier.

We are a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner in Business Process Integration, Data Management Solutions and Mobility Solutions and our software has been tested by Microsoft giving us the right to display the ‘Designed for Windows Mobile logo. We were one of two winners in the Microsoft Worldwide Midmarket Technology Adoption Program in 2004(TAP) using our customer Orica Consumer Products whose brand names include Dulux , Selleys and Yates.

We are also a Progress Premier partner using their tools in the development of our UNIBIS ERP and e-COM solutions that are in use at customers including Toll Transport, MMEM Electrical, Bradken, CSIRO, Sensis, RACQ, Century Resources and L & M Equipment.